Albion Juniors one win shy

July 22, 2014

A full season. Twenty-four games, 147 innings. Fifteen victories. Two final area tournament games to determine a champion Tuesday, July 15. Five hours of American Legion baseball.
And, in the end, one excruciating run short.
That was the story for the Albion Cornerstone Legion Juniors, who fell just shy of a state tournament berth with a 5-4 loss to Minden in the Area B5 tournament championship game at Central City’s Kernel Field.

Albion used a roller-coaster thrill ride to reach that title tilt, defeating Aurora 8-5 to open the tourney, losing a 4-3 squeeker to Minden, rebounding to nip O’Neill 8-7 in nine innings in an elimination game, then edging old nemesis Aurora again, 10-9, in Tuesday’s first contest.
Albion rode to the peak one more time in the nightcap, rallying from an early 4-0 deficit to forge a 4-4 tie before Minden burst Cornerstone’s state tournament hopes with an unearned run in the sixth.
Albion took divergent paths to the final innings Tuesday, building a big lead in the first game before holding off a late Aurora charge, then rallying in the final to push Minden to the limit.
Fans certainly got their money’s worth.